• No models of case management are universally accepted, and no case management model is appropriate in all settings with all populations.
• Case management programs should clearly define their goals and boundaries for their case managers (this has implications for training and resources).
• Case management has six core tasks: client identification, outreach, and engagement; assessment of need; development of a service plan; linking with services; monitoring of needs; and advocacy.
• Case manager roles are influenced by the goal of the case management program, resources allocated to case management, and the availability of community resources.
• Effective outreach and intake efforts are associated with quick response time and assertive follow-up, which have important implications in recruiting clients.
• Thorough assessment of clients' psychosocial and medical needs is essential.
• Effective case management planning includes clients, because many clients are aware of their goals and what would help them to meet these goals.
• Effective case managers take an active and facilitative role in connecting clients with service agencies.
• Counseling is more effective when focused on advice giving, information sharing, problem solving, reality testing, and socialization skills, rather than on long-standing personality issues.
• Because case management research has not revealed optimal levels of education for case managers, defining appropriate levels of training for various case management activities may be more useful.
• Agencies should train case managers for the roles they will assume. This training should include intensive orientation to case management for new workers and ongoing supervision to ensure that the case management intervention is clearly understood.
• Characteristics of the target population affect the range of case management tasks, the way services are marketed and delivered, and caseload.
• Depending on client characteristics and case management activities, an ideal active caseload may be 10 to 35 clients.
• Informal or formal agreements, such as memoranda of understanding, contractual agreements, and legislative enactments, are means by which to affect the availability of and access to referrals for services.

Go to section 2.2 RYAN WHITE or AIDS Case Management